The Neighbour

"Elaine's?

No. I haven't seen her today.

I told you. I was at the cinema. You can phone up Craig and ask him.

Or I could describe the film to you line by line."

My sarcasm was breaking out.

"I'm not sure you should spend so much time with that woman."

He wasn't letting go.

"Why?"

"I don't like it."

"Well, I do." I snapped back.

"You should be out with girls your own age. Not ... spending time with a divorcee twice your age."

"She's not twice my age. She's thirty-four."

"Wow. Two whole years off. Well, I'm sorry if my maths isn't as good as yours. I didn't have parents that paid for me to spend two extra years sitting in my arse at school, just to get a job I could have got at sixteen."

I threw the dirty knife in the sink. I wasn't in the mood to clean it right then.

"Take a chill pill will you."

Dad eased back but was still intent on telling me to stay away from next door. Mum stood in the background looking on helplessly. I guessed they'd already had this argument earlier.

"Look, Kevin.

I don't know what's going on between you two but it's not healthy. It's ..."

I reacted.

"What do you mean? Not healthy?

What do you think I'm doing? Do you think I'm fucking her?"

"Watch your language." Dad said sternly.

"No.

Is that what you think?"

I was impressed I came across so convincingly. I didn't colour up and betray myself.

"I just want you to stay away before.. anyone makes a mistake they'll regret."

I was mad. Angry. I was eighteen.

"You can't tell me what to do."

"Yes, I can. While you live under my roof, you'll do as you're told."

I snatched my sandwich from the plate and forced my way past.

"It's not nineteen-fifty anymore. We don't wear bowler hats and worship Queen and country. We've had the Beatles, free love, and the sexual revolution. Perhaps you missed it."

"Kevin." Mum looked horrified.

"I'm going to bed.

And as soon as I can get out of this house. I will."

"Kevin." Dad shouted with his anger spilling into his voice.

I kept walking.

I was mad when I got to my room. Even madder when I saw jam had dripped down my shirt.

I ate my sandwich and wiped my top as best I could before throwing it in the laundry basket outside the bathroom.

When I heard shouting I knew they were arguing about me. I kicked my shoes off and crept down the stairs to hear better. Halfway down I sat and listened.

"I spoke with Elaine today." I heard Mum say.

"She invited me in for a coffee."

"She does that a lot." Dad said.

"Young boys mainly."

Mum seemed to ignore that.

"I asked her outright."

My heart skipped a beat.

"I asked what was going on with Kevin."

"And?"

"She said they were just friends. Said he was her rock. That he helped with little jobs around the house. She said it was nothing more."

"Well, she would wouldn't she."

"Don't you think maybe you're reading too much into it? Perhaps that is all it is."

"Shirley.

Look at her. She's bloody ..." He checked himself.

"You think an eighteen-year-old lad is just enjoying a coffee looking at that?"

"I don't know."

He's even having his bloody dinner round there."

"We don't know that."

"He didn't eat here did he."

"It was only once. Perhaps it's what he said. He wasn't hungry."

Dad puffed.

"Maybe she does see it that way. But I guarantee Kevin doesn't.

It has to stop."

I turned and crept back up the stairs. I'd heard enough.

I didn't get an opportunity to speak with Elaine until our usual Friday liaison. Even then I held back until after we'd made love. We were on the sofa again. Still naked with Elaine wrapped around me as she teetered on the edge.

"Dad isn't happy." I told her.

"Wants me to stay away from you."

"What do you want?"

"Not that obviously.

But it's awkward."

"Yes. Yes, it is."

She looked down. I knew this was a problem for her. She didn't want to be seen as a cradle snatcher. And she didn't deserve to live next door to an angry man.

"Your Mum asked me if anything was going on."

"I know. I heard her talking to Dad.

What should we do?"

"Nothing."

"You're not going to end it are you?"

My heart skipped at the thought this might end. I couldn't live with that.

"No. Of course not.

Just ... carry on as we are. He doesn't know anything. He's guessing. Just keep it that way."

"Okay.

I don't care if he does find out any more. I'll just leave home."

I felt her tense at that.

"Just don't let him find out." She said quietly.

"Not yet."

I wanted to ask what she meant by not yet, but she changed the subject quickly.

"You want to do something normal?" Elaine asked making eye contact again with a mischievous grin.

"How do you mean normal?

I cut the grass once a week. That's normal."

"I was thinking ... go on a date."

"You mean as in out?"

I thought of Dad. He would blow a blood vessel.

"Yes."

She sounded all conspiratorial.

"I was thinking ... we could meet up somewhere where we wouldn't be seen.

Be a normal couple for an evening."

Now she was making sense.

"Okay. Yeah. That'd be great. I just don't want to ..."

She knew what I meant.

"You know."

Elaine smiled.

"Just say you're going to see your friends. They'll even see you walking down the road. They'll never know."

"Okay. When were you thinking?"

"Tomorrow?"

I told Mum I was going to Craig's as I grabbed my bomber jacket and slipped out the door. The smell of aftershave probably gave a lie to that.

"What about your tea?"

"I'll get something at Craig's."

Saturday night and I was going out with a girl. On an actual date. It wasn't anything special. Just a drink and a meal in the lounge. A scampi and chips type of place. It was within walking distance and I knew no one I knew would go there. The Mill was a pub for older people. Not one my age went to. They were in the seedy basement dives closer to town. Jukeboxes and a healthy supply of weed.

It was ideal for meeting Elaine. My first meal out with my girlfriend. I saw her as soon as I stepped inside. She stood out like a vision. Then in a room full of people, she greeted me with a hug and a kiss oblivious to how we looked. There were no disapproving glares or tuts. No one noticed. No one cared.

The food was basic. We both had bangers and mash. Elaine, ever the sophisticated one ordered a bottle of wine. I'd never had wine. That was so continental. On the odd occasion, Dad took us to a pub it was in the beer garden with a shandy and a packet of crisps. Christmas saw a glass of Dubonnet and Lemonade or a Babycham. Even the handful of times I'd been to a bar with Craig or Lloyd it was a larger.

Elaine picked up her glass and smiled. Such warmth on her face. Love? The only thing missing was candlelight.

"We're here. No one knows us. We're a couple just like everyone else tonight.

Fuck what your Dad thinks.

Fuck what your friends think. No actually, they'd probably be impressed." She sniggered.

"They would. Lloyd had the hots for you when he saw you at the Wimpy and Craig got a slap for..."

I decided not to tell her what he'd said.

"Staring at your bum."

Elaine laughed.

"The girl still got it."

"You have for me."

Another grin of self-satisfaction that she could turn the head of someone so much younger.

"So how's this?" She asked.

"The two of us. A couple. Being normal?"

"Cool.

It's how it should be."

She swallowed more of her wine.

"So, why do you like me so much?

Is it just because I've got a great pair of jugs?"

I rolled my eyes.

"No.

I mean. You have. But everything about you is great."

"Tell me.

Make me feel ... wanted."

I thought for a moment.

"You have a heart. Beautiful inside as well as out. You make me feel wanted. Special. I like that we connect. Not just the sex. We talk and get on so well. You're my friend before anything else."

I was on a roll.

"I guess. Because you know yourself. I'm comfortable with you in a way I can't be with anyone else."

Elaine just looked at me as she processed that ramble.

"Wow.

I know myself. That's ... kind of profound."

I sipped my drink.

"I've never thought about the why before. I've always been in awe of how you look. Your life. Everything is so ... perfect."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"I would. To me you are. I saw that the very first moment we met. And yes, like every teen I just wanted to bed you. Or ... have you bed me to be more accurate. But it's ... more than that. There's something ... deeper."

I laughed, feeling a little embarrassed at myself.

"Sorry. I'm not scaring you away am I?"

"No. No. Not at all. Far from it."

Sometimes she just stared at me as though looking into my soul. I wondered what she saw.

"I'll get the bill." She said picking up her bag.

"No. I should pay."

"It's almost nineteen eighty. A girl can pay now. We burnt our bras before..."

She was going to say before I was born. Always that reminder there about the sixteen years between us. It hurt sometimes.

"Wait here."

I didn't argue as she went to the bar.

We started walking back together with Elaine looping my arm as though she'd forgotten we were a secret.

"I've enjoyed tonight.

Long time since I've been out with someone." She said wistfully.

"Let's take a detour through the park.

It's longer, and I don't want tonight to end just yet.

Away from the light of the street lamps it was dark. Elaine looked up at the sky. I followed her gaze. A near-full moon cast the only light here and left long shadows from the trees. A clear night. Stars everywhere. More than I'd ever seen.

"Beautiful isn't it." She said.

I nodded. It was.

"Seeing all that vastness. Endless space and time. It makes me think how small and inconsequential our problems are."

"And you said I was being profound."

She smiled.

"There's no one around.

Do you want to be naughty?"

"What here?"

"Why not?"

She pressed me up against a tree and slid her hand inside my trousers.

"Uhh."

"Oh my. You've got the horn."

"That's what you do to me."

She rubbed my dick making it even harder. She squeezed my balls. I tingled from head to foot.

"Mmm."

"You want me to give you a handjob?" She giggled.

I could see her face. A big grin and wide eyes projected her excitement. I glanced around the park quickly checking for any sign of movement.

"Uhh."

Elaine hadn't waited for a reply and had my dick out in the open air.

"That's so hard.

You sure it's all me and you're not thinking about Debbie Harry?"

"That's all you.

God, I want to fuck you so much every time I see you."

"Not tonight. We don't have time."

She had my dick in her hand, stroking its full length and rubbing her palm over my wet sticky nob. It felt so good.

She stepped to my side, turning her hand on me.

"I'm going to make you cum. I want to see your spunk squirting in the moonlight for me."

Her hand went wild, pumping it hard and fast.

"Fuck me, that feels good.

Uh."

I was weak. As though my dick was taking every ounce of my energy. I was on that final approach where nothing could stop me.

"Uhh."

My groin spasmed, jerking my hips and my spunk let fly.

"Fucking hell." Elaine gasped excitedly at the sight of it.

"That's so much. And all for me."

Her hand slowed as my satisfied dick softened.

"Poor Debbie. Not tonight."

Her hand left me and I had the discomfort of putting my wet sticky dick back into my underpants. Uncomfortable, but so worth it.

As I zipped my fly, Elaine made it clear she wasn't done. She took over the tree and pulled me to stand in front of her, lifting her skirt. Her thighs were white. Whiter than normal in the moonlight, while pink panties became dark and colourless.

"Use your fingers."

Then she added in a sexy whisper.

"I'm gagging for it."

I closed in on her, slipping my hand under the hem of that garment to feel the soft warm flesh beneath it. I kissed her, pushing my tongue into her mouth. My fingers rubbed her snatch until she began to squirm, then broke through her barrier, sinking into wet, squelching meat.

"Mmmm."

Her legs weakened and she slumped, held up only by the tree and me pressing against her.

I rubbed her, pushing into her and pressing over her nub. Harder, deeper, faster. She broke away from my lips to gasp deep breaths.

"Uhh."

Her soft thighs closed around my hand making her tighter. I finger fucked her furiously. She was so wet. A gentle squelching sound rose to my ears making me even more determined to have her bucking on my fingers.

"Uhhh. Uh.

"Oh god."

Her head leaned against the tree and her eyes closed. I put my mouth to her parted lips again determined that we be as one when she found that special moment.

Her shudder rode through her whole body, right through to her lips where they pressed against mine.

"Uuh mmm."

There was something primitive and magical watching, feeling, her cum in the summer night's air.

"Fuuck."

Again she was free of me gasping.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

A hand snatched at my wrist and pulled my hand away.

"Jesus." She gasped.

"You liked that?"

"Oh yeah.

It was wonderful."

We kissed again before I stepped away and let her rearrange her clothes.

"It's getting late." She said.

"We should get back before your parents worry."

That was beginning to bug me. Here I was a young man. A man in every sense thanks to Elaine, and I was having to rush home because mummy and daddy would be mad.

TEN

The days between seeing Elaine were torture. A never-ending void filled with pretending to be that innocent teenager Mum still believed I was. Dad, I wasn't so sure about. He didn't say as much, but I think he knew.

In fact, Dad didn't say very much at all. A chasm had opened up between us. Not one I wanted, but it wasn't going to be closed until he accepted I had grown up. That I could and would make my own decisions.

There were times when I thought about just telling him. Get the big fight out of the way and see where the land lay after. I sat in the chair with my feet curled up under me thinking it through. Considering where I could go if he threw me out. I didn't think he would, but living here would be near impossible if they didn't accept it.

And what of Elaine? How serious was she about me? I knew how I felt. I knew how she was with me. But long term? There was still that inescapable gap in our ages. Not long ago the year above or below me in school had been an insurmountable difference. Now here I was trying to justify one that stretched further than. My entire schooling.

Until now my life had been one day at a time. I was facing another change, one that came with being an adult. Thinking about consequences. Sometimes I hated being grown up.

Perhaps Elaine only saw me as fun. No. I was certain it went deeper than that. But was it deep enough that she'd ignore the expectations of society? That carried a price. Even with the nineteen eighties imminent, the old guard still ran the world. Stuffy people like Dad to whom convention was important. Not the hippies of my childhood. The real world wasn't Woodstock. Those people weren't in charge.

The News came on with the continuing story of two men being arrested for the murder of Lord Mountbatten. A terrible event from a few days before. Two boys, younger than me had also died. That was the real world. Hatred and war. I'd grown up hearing about terrorists, Vietnam, and killings by people like the Yorkshire Ripper. That and industrial strife. I'd done my homework by candlelight not so many years ago. Even now ITV was disrupted by a dispute.

I just wanted to live in a world of colour and joy. A new Prime Minister, a new decade a few months away held promise for change that everyone was crying out for. But here I was hiding in secret, held back from having my little piece of that change.

"I'm going to bed."

It was an announcement. A sullen declaration that encapsulated how I felt. Dad just glared as he mostly did nowadays. Mum tried her best.

"Okay. Night luv."

I couldn't even bring myself to respond.

At the top of the stairs, I peeked through the landing curtains. Elaine's kitchen light was on but the blind was down. I sighed my despair.

Just the width of the driveways separated us. What was that? Five, six yards? I could almost reach out and touch her. I wondered if she was thinking about me just at this moment.

"Life sucks." I muttered dropping the curtain back.

In my bedroom, I glanced at Debbie Harry. She was looking down at me from my wall. It was a great poster. But it reminded me of being a child in some ways. Still the room of a schoolboy when I wanted the sophistication of Elaine's bedroom.

We were discrete. Our relationship stretched on through the autumn. Mostly hidden behind the closed doors of her house. But also we became braver with more trips to the pub. We risked the cinema once to see the Alien film, nervously checking around for anyone I knew as we bought our tickets.

That was the first time I stayed overnight with Elaine. I'd told Mum I was staying at Lloyd's. The movie finished just after eleven so my house was safely in darkness when we crept in. She pulled the curtains closed before turning on a lamp.

"Come upstairs and ball me." She said holding my hand.

We were hungry when we reached her room, tearing our clothes away before falling onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Want to play a game?"

She was looking mischievous when I lifted my head from enjoying the taste and feel of her tit.

"Look in the drawer."

I leaned over to the side she was indicating and pulled open the top drawer. There were two silk scarves which I lifted out still not quite putting together her intention.

"Tie me up." She said putting her hands up to the top corners of the bed.

I was on it straight away, wrapping the silk around the headboard fixings before tying her wrists. Then I took hold of her ankles and pulled her down the bed so her arms were stretched up above her head. She was looking excited.

"You can do what you want with me now." She said invitingly.

"Sweet"

I started at her ankles. Kissing my way up until I reached her thighs. There I used my body to hold her legs apart as I stroked her inner thighs with my fingertips and tasted her flesh.

"Hmmm.

That's ... nice."

She began to squirm at my ticklish touch and I moved higher a slow methodical movement until her snatch was right before my eyes. I blew on it as I let my fingers press against the very edges of her soft mound. I could feel its heat and smell the earthy sweetness of her secretions. I loved how it gently deflected around my fingers when I pressed it, and how it seemed to swell and take on a deeper hue when she was aroused.

"Uhh.

Go down on me. Please."

My boner ached and I ground my groin into her bed to ease my agony. I was determined to take my time. To pleasure her until she begged me to stop. I put my arms around her thighs, trapping them so she couldn't escape and I put my face to her pussy.

"Uh. God."

She bulked as I licked her length and spread oozing juices up into her small bush. Her thighs fought against my hold and her hands began to struggle against the binding scarves.

"Do you like that?" I asked.

"Fuck. Yes.

Lick me out."

I obliged. I pressed my tongue into her hot flesh and explored each fold and crevice. I lapped up her delightful, gushing fluids.

"Oh Jesus. Don't stop."

I pressed deeper, my fingers just managing to reach around her legs to peel back her flaps and expose her warm inner meat.

She was fighting as I sucked her bean and tortured it with tiny brushes of the tip of my tongue.

"Oh god. That feels so good."